Mongolia - Che Guevara 1000 Togrog 2018

Iconic revolutionary Che Guevara was undoubtedly one of the most significant and recognizable persons of the 20th century. Fighting side-by-side with Fidel Castro in the Cuban revolution, his portrait adorns the latest Mongolian coin in the "Revolutionaries" series. The series now includes Castro, Karl Marx, Gandhi, Ghingis Khan and others. Issue mintage was limited to 1000 coins.
Customary for this series, the portrait is struck in smartminting© high relief. The amount of detail and sculpture like depths in the portrait are unparalleled. Selective coloring accents the Guevara’s facial features and brings the coin to life.
Obverse: Emblem of the Bank of Mongolia; denomination. Inscription with traditional Mongolian alphabet. Lettering: Монгол Банк ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ, 1000 ТӨГРӨГ MONGOLIA 1 oz 999 SILVER. Translation: The Bank of Mongolia, Monggol Ulus (Mongolia), 1000 Tögrög
Reverse: Lettering: Che Guevara, 2018.
Customary for this series, the portrait is struck in smartminting© high relief. The amount of detail and sculpture like depths in the portrait are unparalleled. Selective coloring accents the Guevara’s facial features and brings the coin to life.
CIT has dedicated the third issue in its “Iconic Revolutionaries” series to Che Guevara, whose face became an icon of the Protests of 1968 thanks to Alberto Korda’s portrait.
Mongolia’s new coin doesn’t show this well-known image but another, similar portrait instead. It makes the Marxist revolutionary look younger and more humane: It’s not the Guerillero Heroico, whom the media turned into an icon, but a considerate politician trying to convince his opponent with impassioned speeches.
The incredible true-to- life effect of the portrait is achieved by combining smartminting technology with sparse selective coloring in black and white. The extremely high relief appears even more plastic due to the restrained colour application. The depiction has the appeal of a threedimensional rendition of a black-and-white photo.
The coin is a technical marvel: Color application on high relief has only recently been made possible thanks to the latest technology. The actual mint is still a mystery to me. Some info list as B. H. Mayer in Bavaria, Germany, which I think is correct and they're working with CIT out of Lichtenstein, which may be involved in marketing.